The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-06-30
TRADES Union STRIKES.
Costly and Disastrous Failures - ~
.d Knigl,ta' Organization DoOmed.

Costly and Disastrous Failures = The
e Knigl,ts' Organization Doomed.
Iionion Journal.
Signs OF dislntegretion Of the Knighta Of
Labor multiply fast. The collapse Of the
shoemRkefs' strlkein Worcester, Spencer,
and tho BrookHelds, Mass., Ia a serious
blow u the organization. This strike had
been In progress for neHrly five months,
and involved an ieaus which has been
generally regarded az vital TO the exia.
fence OF the organization-l. o., the isaue
OF "freu shops" vs.. the control OF labor
unions. 1t had been formally eepoused
by the Knights Of Labor; considerable
sums had been ralaed In support OF 1t, and
more had been promised. But The strain
proved too severe; and the auygestion OF
Mr.. Powderly that thoae concerned should
not let pride stand In the way Of o agttle'
msnt was soon followed by an order from
District Assembly 80, X. Of L., notifying
the workmon to seek work as soon as pos.
sible, as the assembly could no longer aid
them. This result not only dsmonstrates
the inability Of one OF the most powerful
District Assemblies in the country, but 1t
intensiheB the antagonism between the
Knighta and the Lasters' Protective
Union, which organization has now I'M
dertasen to carry on tho fight alone, 30
far as the lsstera and bottomers are con-
cerned. Il }lts sfa.a-G. /.
Other signs Of disintegration among the
Knights arc the attempted boycott oil the
Higgins carpets, which Ia virtually war
oil knight against Knights; the rapid
growth Of tho TRADES unions and OF the
American Federation Of Trades, m asso.
citation founded upon principle the con-
trary to that which underles the constitu-
ton Of tho knights; and the indications
Of waning interest, reduced membership,
and often insubordination which crops out
here and there. -,
Most significant OF all, perhspu, Is the
resolution adopted by the powerful Anal.
gamated Association OF Iron and Steel
Workers, that after the Let Of April next
no member Of that association will be per.
mit.ed to be also member Of the Knights
oil labor. This meane open waretare, and
II the example should be followed by any
considerable number Of the unions which
mako up the Federation OF Trades 1t would
Inevitably disrupt the Knights. ~"
That which Is taking place is only tina.
which. wes predicted long ago, and which
; was inevitable. The system Of "sympa'
thslic strikea" by which the knightu have
endeavored to carry on their operations is
simply unavoidable. Every time that il
has been attempted, upon any consider.
abba scale, 1t has resulted In weakness and
exhaustion. When hackdriver has 1t in
his power to order thousands Of men in
various industries 10 throw down thor
tools because few hundred men in aoEae
trade cannot mako satisfactory terms with
their employers-when bakers quit work
J because coal.heayers want two cents an
hour more than they are getting-when
carpenters try 10 make terms for shoe
makers, and an elocutionist engineers a
, horae-car strike, tho labor situation DO.
comes subject to conditions which aro in.
tolerable and which cannot be expected to
last. An organization based on the prin.
ciples and conducted by the methoda Of
. the knights Of Labor is doomed to fall in
pieces by reason Of its own weight. .